But the almost unstoppable avalanche of doping in cycling had already caught up with two other colourful personalities on the scene. Under the code names "Maria" and "Luigi", Cipollini, the record stage winner at the Giro d'Italia, and Beijing Olympic champion Cancellara are said to have been on the client list of Spanish doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.
In the case of the former "Super Mario" Cipollini, the Italian sports newspaper "Gazzetta dello Sport" documented the former world champion's alleged doping activities almost completely. In the Cancellara case, the confessed doping offender and Armstrong's crown witness Tyler Hamilton had divulged alleged insider knowledge and linked the Swiss rider to Fuentes.
"I reject the unfounded and absurd accusations against my client," said Cipollini's lawyer Giuseppe Napoleone. The former world champion is prepared to co-operate with the anti-doping authorities and provide DNA samples to prove his innocence. Cipollini, who was always known for his extravagances during his active career, has always denied doping - even when he came under suspicion a few years ago.
The customary declarations of innocence were also heard from Cancellara at the Tour of Qatar. "I'm clean," said the classics specialist. People might associate him with the code name "Luigi" because he had previously trained under Luigi Cecchini - a sports physician with a dubious reputation who had also once coached Jan Ullrich. However, this collaboration was only based on improving performance, not "doping performance".
On the one hand, he doesn't care about the Hamilton allegations because he stands for the "right things in this sport". On the other hand, he is not unaffected by it. "Somehow it touches me because it makes me angry that things like this come out." It is like Alberto Contador, who was initially assigned the initials AC on the Fuentes list before being declared innocent by the Spanish authorities. In his home country, Cancellara has the status of former world number one tennis player Roger Federer.
Guilty or not - the shambles in cycling continues to grow. Almost every top rider from the past two decades - regardless of whether they are called Cipollini, Cancellara, Lance Armstrong, Ullrich, Marco Pantani, Bjarne Riis, Tom Boonen, Erik Zabel or Contador - has been confronted with doping headlines or been convicted.
The allegations against Cipollini are particularly serious. The now 45-year-old ex-professional is alleged to have received Epo, blood reserves, anabolic steroids and hormones from Fuentes in 2002. He was listed in his file under the names "Maria" or "CP", wrote the Gazzetta. On Sunday, the newspaper followed up and published further details. The first contact between Fuentes and Cipollini is said to have taken place in 2001. In the years up to 2004, the Italian is said to have regularly received drugs, which were meticulously listed in tables.
The newspaper published such an overview for 2002, when Cipollini won the Milan-San Remo classic and took the title at the Road World Championships in Zolder/Belgium. It shows when he was allegedly given which drugs - in high doses - before his successes. Alleged transfers to Fuentes were also documented, and the fax number of Cipollini's house in Lucca is said to be on the back of one of the tables. Napoleone replied that the sprint star was living in Monaco at the time. "From Super Mario to Maria," the newspaper wrote, alluding to his name in Fuentes' client file.
Cipollini celebrated his greatest successes at the turn of the millennium, when he was one of German sprinter Zabel's biggest rivals, winning 17 stages in the Tour de France and 42 in the Giro d'Italia. Cipollini ended his career in 2008.
"The shadow of doping also lies on Mario Cipollini," wrote the Turin daily "La Stampa". Rome's "La Repubblica" commented: "The myth of King Cipollini in the dust of doping." The president of Italy's cycling federation, Renato Di Rocco, called on the judiciary to investigate the allegations as quickly as possible. "This poison must not be allowed to contaminate the present and future of cycling."
